Pitching & Throwing - Load and Go

Roy Halladay explains how the "load and go" delivery will allow a pitcher to be quick to the plate without sacrificing velocity or control with runners on base. The "load and go" delivery enables the pitcher to quickly load his weight on his backside before beginning his throwing motion to the plate.Load and go-- I'm Roy Halladay with Inside Baseball. Today we're going to talk about something that I call load and go. Everybody else calls it a slide step. You've got a fast runner on first. The first thing a coach is going to try and teach you is, you have to be quicker to home plate. Most guys do it by coming set and eliminating their leg lift. The biggest problem that I'm seeing now is kids come here-- or any player, in particular-- and instead of a leg lift, they go straight to home plate, trying to be quicker. They lose their power from one reason. They aren't going and loading their backside. You have to go-- even if you're going to go no leg lift-- short, knee to knee, get this leg back to this leg, and go. That's why I call it a load the back leg and go. I'm going to come up. I'm going to load my backside, and I'm going to go, instead of taking it right here. This is just to go. That's a go. That's a slide step. To me, a slide step is a phrase for losing power, losing leg strength. I want load and go. Load and go is quick. I come up, I load my backside, and I go. But if I don't load that backside, I'm going to lose power. I'm going to lose location. I'm going to lose a lot of things. So it's very important, when you start getting into fast runners, changing your times, working on your leg lifts. Make sure you get loaded. You've got to get your weight loaded on that backside, coil that back spring, and go towards home plate. That's load and go, and I'm Roy Halladay.

Former Cy Young award winner Roy Halladay explains how the "load and go" delivery will allow a pitcher to be quick to the plate without sacrificing velocity or control with runners on base. The "load and go" delivery enables the pitcher to quickly load his weight on his backside before beginning his throwing motion to the plate. Coach Halladay makes a point to make sure the pitcher stays back and gives his arm time to get caught up to your fast moving feet.

About The
Instructor

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay, nicknamed "Doc", is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nickname, coined by Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, is a reference to Wild West gunslinger "Doc" Holliday.
He was the Blue Jays' first draft selection in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, the 17th pick overall, and played for the team from 1998 through 2009, after which he was traded to Philadelphia. Halladay is known for his ability to pitch deep into games effectively and, at the time of his retirement, was the current active major league leader in complete games with 67, including 20 shutouts.
On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history, beating the Florida Marlins by a score of 1–0. On October 6, 2010, in his first post-season start, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history (Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series being the first) against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS. It was his second no-hitter of the year (following the May 29 perfect game), making Halladay the fifth pitcher in major league history (and the first since Nolan Ryan in 1973) to throw multiple no-hitters in the same season. During the 2012 season, he became the 67th pitcher to record 2,000 strikeouts. Halladay is also one of only five pitchers in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National Leagues. More Videos of Roy Halladay